A federal judge in Hawaii has put President Donald Trump's revised travel ban on hold.

U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson issued his ruling Wednesday after hearing arguments on Hawaii's request for a temporary restraining order involving the ban.

His ruling prevents the executive order from going into effect Thursday.

More than half a dozen states are trying to stop the ban, and federal courts in Maryland, Washington state and Hawaii heard arguments Wednesday about whether it should be put into practice.

Hawaii argued that the ban discriminates on the basis of nationality and would prevent Hawaii residents from receiving visits from relatives in the six mostly Muslim countries covered by the ban.

The state also says the ban would harm its tourism industry and the ability to recruit foreign students and workers.

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson was attending a hearing in federal court in Seattle in his efforts to block President Donald Trump's revised travel ban when he got word that a judge in Hawaii had put the ban on hold.

"Fantastic news," Ferguson said afterward. "It's very exciting. At this point it's a team effort — multiple lawsuits and multiple states."